My appt was at 3. So I got there at 2:45. I sat and I sat. And I waited. And I tried to do physics homework. And I sat. And at 5:10 I get called back. I get weighed, I get my blood pressure and pulse taken. I get an ECG. I wait. And I wait. Around 5:35 the NP comes in to take my history. Around 5:55 the Dr comes in goes over the history the NP took with me. I was with him less than 5 minutes. Then he says the ECG looks normal and that there doesn't appear to be a structural problem (and of course, my resting HR was NORMAL while i was sitting there waiting for 3 hours). So he said he thinks it's the meds, but still, he'd like a 24 heart monitor and an ultrasound of my heart. Unfortunatly, everyone in the office had left at this point and there was no one there to set me up with it (isn't HE qualified?!).
So I have to go back. But I couldn't even set up a time to go back because the front desk people had all left and he said they would call me the next morning with follow up information (which they never did). He had been on vacation and that day was his first day back and they "accidently" overbooked him. Um... if you only have so many openings in the book, how do you "accidently" write too many people's names down? I would have waited a week if I had known that would have helped the situation. I left my house at 145 and got home at 7. I saw the dr for 5 minutes and had nothing but an ECG done. It was the biggest waste of a day ever. (plus, this was the day I was going on 2 hours of sleep and my entire exhaust system fell off my car on the way to class... it was already a crappy day. oh- and they have CNN on in the waiting room. I hate politics, i hate obama. and it makes me anxious and want to cut but i couldn't get away from it).
This place is an hour away from me.
I have no intentions of going back.
my heart is fine.
And I don't care.
About Me
- Andi
- United States
- I'm a nerd and am about to graduate with a medical science degree and work in a hospital diagnostics lab, I'm in love and about to get married, I'm a recovering eating disordered person who is currently winning the battle. I am an aunt, I am a little sister, I am Catholic, I am driven. I am me.
3 comments:
I know it feels sucky to only talk to the dr for five minutes, but unfortunately, it's standard. Especially for a first visit when all he has in front of him is an EKG. Which doesn't tell him much. Which is why you should do the 24 hour monitor (and technically, he could explain how to use it, but he probably doesn't even know where his office staff keeps them and probably doesn't know the password to key in your data. That's what a NP does.) And, having worked in a doctor's office for three years, it is extremely easy to overschedule, escpecially when more than one person has access to the book or the scheduling page.
It's frustrating. But it's the medical world. I never go to a cardiologist appointment without knitting and a book. It's just a given. It's the type of specialty where things often go wrong in the course of a day.
And this is your heart. You should care. you need your heart.
i know. but he said he thinks it's the meds, and so do i. and i don't have the time or energy to do this right now.
and they never even called me back to set anything up. maybe it's a sign.
I think it's something you should follow up on. It may be a great pain in the ass but it will at least give you knowledge on where to go next.
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